16 U.S.C. § 535a — Forest development roads: prohibition on

Page 965 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 535a tions and authority vested in Secretary of Energy sub- sequently transferred to Federal Coordinator for Alas- ka Natural Gas Transportation Projects by section 720d(f) of Title 15. § 534. Termination and cancellation of ease- ments; notice; hearing An easement granted under sections 532 to 538 of this title may be terminated by consent of the owner of the easement, by condemnation, or after a five-year period of nonuse the Secretary may, if he finds the owner has abandoned the easement, make a determination to cancel it. Before the Secretary may cancel an easement for nonuse the owner of such easement must be notified of the determination to cancel and be given, upon his request made within sixty days after receipt of the notice, a hearing in accord- ance with such rules and regulations as may be issued by the Secretary. (Pub. L. 88–657, § 3, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1089.) Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of certain enforcement functions of Sec- retary or other official in Department of Agriculture under sections 532 to 538 of this title to Federal Inspec- tor, Office of Federal Inspector for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 533 of this title. § 535. Forest development roads; acquisition, con- struction, and maintenance; maximum econ- omy; methods of financing; cost arrange- ments for construction standards; transfer of unused effective purchaser credit for road construction The Secretary is authorized to provide for the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of forest development roads within and near the national forests and other lands administered by the Forest Service in locations and according to specifications which will permit maximum econ- omy in harvesting timber from such lands tribu- tary to such roads and at the same time meet the requirements for protection, development, and management thereof, and for utilization of the other resources thereof. Financing of such roads may be accomplished (1) by the Secretary utilizing appropriated funds, (2) by requirements on purchasers of national forest timber and other products, including provisions for amorti- zation of road costs in contracts, (3) by coopera- tive financing with other public agencies and with private agencies or persons, or (4) by a combination of these methods: Provided, That where roads of a higher standard than that need- ed in the harvesting and removal of the timber and other products covered by the particular sale are to be constructed, the purchaser of the national forest timber and other products shall not be required to bear that part of the costs necessary to meet such higher standard, and the Secretary is authorized to make such arrange- ments to this end as may be appropriate. The Secretary is authorized, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, to permit the transfer of unused effective purchaser credit for road construction earned after December 16, 1975, from one timber sale to a purchaser to an- other timber sale to the same purchaser within the same National Forest. (Pub. L. 88–657, § 4, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1089; Pub. L. 94–154, Dec. 16, 1975, 89 Stat. 823.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1975—Pub. L. 94–154 authorized the Secretary to per- mit the transfer of unused effective purchaser credit for road construction earned after Dec. 16, 1975, from one timber sale to a purchaser to another timber sale to the same purchaser within the same National For- est. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FINANCING OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS Financing of forest development roads authorized by cl. (2) of this section deemed ‘‘budget authority’’ and ‘‘budget outlays’’ as defined in section 621(a) of Title 2, The Congress, and effective for purpose specified in sec- tion 651(a) of Title 2, see section 1608 of this title. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of certain enforcement functions of Sec- retary or other official in Department of Agriculture under sections 532 to 538 of this title to Federal Inspec- tor, Office of Federal Inspector for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 533 of this title. § 535a. Forest development roads: prohibition on credits; inclusion of construction costs in no- tice of sale; special election by small business concerns; construction standards; authoriza- tion of harvesting; treatment of road value (a) Prohibition on timber purchaser road credits In financing any forest development road pur- suant to section 535 of this title, the Secretary of Agriculture may not provide effective credit for road construction to any purchaser of na- tional forest timber or other forest products. (b) Construction of roads by timber purchasers (1) Whenever the Secretary of Agriculture makes a determination that a forest develop- ment road referred to in subsection (a) shall be constructed or paid for, in whole or in part, by a purchaser of national forest timber or other forest products, the Secretary shall include no- tice of the determination in the notice of sale of the timber or other forest products. The notice of sale shall contain, or announce the avail- ability of, sufficient information related to the road described in the notice to permit a prospec- tive bidder on the sale to calculate the likely cost that would be incurred by the bidder to con- struct or finance the construction of the road so that the bidder may reflect such cost in the bid. (2) If there is an increase or decrease in the cost of roads constructed by the timber pur- chaser, caused by variations in quantities, changes or modifications subsequent to the sale Page 966 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 536 of timber made in accordance with applicable timber sale contract provisions, then an adjust- ment to the price paid for timber harvested by the purchaser shall be made. The adjustment shall be applied by the Secretary as soon as practicable after any such design change is im- plemented. (c) Special election by small business concerns (1) A notice of sale referred to in subsection (b) containing specified road construction of $50,000 or more, shall give a purchaser of national for- est timber or other forest products that quali- fies as a ‘‘small business concern’’ under the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.), and regulations issued thereunder, the option to elect that the Secretary of Agriculture build the roads described in the notice. The Secretary shall provide the small business concern with an estimate of the cost that would be incurred by the Secretary to construct the roads on behalf of the small business concern. The notice of sale shall also include the date on which the roads described in the notice will be completed by the Secretary if the election is made. (2) If the election referred to in paragraph (1) is made, the purchaser of the national forest timber or other forest products shall pay to the Secretary of Agriculture, in addition to the price paid for the timber or other forest prod- ucts, an amount equal to the estimated cost of the roads which otherwise would be paid by the purchaser as provided in the notice of sale. Pending receipt of such amount, the Secretary may use receipts from the sale of national forest timber or other forest products and such addi- tional sums as may be appropriated for the con- struction of roads, such funds to be available until expended, to accomplish the requested road construction. (d) Authorization of harvesting In each sale of national forest timber or other forest products referred to in this section, the Secretary of Agriculture is encouraged to au- thorize harvest of the timber or other forest products in a unit included in the sale as soon as road work for that unit is completed and the road work is approved by the Secretary. (e) Construction standard For any forest development road that is to be constructed or paid for by a purchaser of na- tional forest timber or other forest products, the Secretary of Agriculture may not require the purchaser to design, construct, or maintain the road (or pay for the design, construction, or maintenance of the road) to a standard higher than the standard, consistent with applicable environmental laws and regulations, that is suf- ficient for the harvesting and removal of the timber or other forest products, unless the Sec- retary bears that part of the cost necessary to meet the higher standard. (f) Treatment of road value For any forest development road that is con- structed or paid for by a purchaser of national forest timber or other forest products, the esti- mated cost of the road construction, including subsequent design changes, shall be considered to be money received for purposes of the pay- ments required to be made under section 500 of this title. To the extent that the appraised value of road construction determined under this sub- section reflects funds contributed by the Sec- retary of Agriculture to build the road to a high- er standard pursuant to subsection (e), the Sec- retary shall modify the appraisal of the road construction to exclude the effect of the Federal funds. (g) Effective date (1) This section and the requirements of this section shall take effect (and apply thereafter) upon the earlier of— (A) April 1, 1999; or (B) the date that is the later of— (i) the effective date of regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture to imple- ment this section; and (ii) the date on which new timber sale con- tract provisions designed to implement this section, that have been published for public comment, are approved by the Secretary. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any sale of national forest timber or other forest products for which notice of sale is provided before the ef- fective date of this section, and any effective purchaser road credit earned pursuant to a con- tract resulting from such a notice of sale or oth- erwise earned before that effective date shall re- main in effect, and shall continue to be subject to section 535 of this title and section 472a(i) of this title, and rules issued thereunder, as in ef- fect on the day before October 21, 1998. (Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(e) [title III, § 329], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–231, 2681–292.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Small Business Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is Pub. L. 85–536, § 2(1 et seq.), July 18, 1958, 72 Stat. 384, which is classified generally to chapter 14A (§ 631 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 631 of Title 15 and Tables. § 536. Recording of instruments; furnishing of in- struments affecting public domain lands to Secretary of the Interior Copies of all instruments affecting permanent interests in land executed pursuant to sections 532 to 538 of this title shall be recorded in each county where the lands are located. Copies of all instruments affecting interests in lands reserved from the public domain shall be furnished to the Secretary of the Interior. (Pub. L. 88–657, § 5, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1089.) § 537. Maintenance and reconstruction by road users; funds for maintenance and reconstruc- tion; availability of deposits until expended, transfer of funds, and refunds The Secretary may require the user or users of a road under the control of the Forest Service, including purchasers of Government timber and other products, to maintain such roads in a sat- isfactory condition commensurate with the par- ticular use requirements of each. Such mainte- nance to be borne by each user shall be propor-